This newest award is the latest in a list of green leadership awards
garnered by Columbia, which credits the company’s utilization of SYSPRO
ERP software as the key factor in the company’s ability to adopt green
sustainability practices.

Ali Salehi, Columbia Manufacturing Sr. Vice President, references the
ways SYSPRO software functionality has been instrumental to the
establishment of Columbia’s green practices, noting, “We could not
operate without SYSPRO.

“This is a very cyclical business,” he says. “The schools get out in May
and June, and they want their products in the very short window of July
1 through Labor Day. Therefore, we get a huge demand in an 8 – 12 week
period. SYSPRO functionality, however, expedites material resource
planning and purchasing while SYSPRO forecasting, enables, as it were,
our ability to ‘see the future’ so we can regulate our purchase of
chemicals, water usage, electricity and all the items related to our
manufacturing of school furniture.

“For example,” he says, “SYSPRO data contributed to our plating
operation’s water usage reduction – from 150,000 gallons per day to
3,000 gallons per day – also reducing chrome usage by 93% and nickel
purchases by 75%.” Columbia’s environmental safeguards also include the
recycling of all waste steel, corrugation, wood and trash. The latter
goes to a plant, where it’s converted into fuel cells for power plants.

Salehi points out that Columbia has been utilizing SYSPRO ERP software
since 2004, selected on the recommendation of a search committee tasked
with seeking a replacement to the company’s incumbent, outdated ERP
system. SYSPRO was the choice from a field of 15 candidates. “We found
SYSPRO to be the most adaptive to the nature of our business and
unsurpassed for flexibility, ease of use and training,” says Salehi.

The following is a list of Columbia’s environmental achievements, many
of which were facilitated utilizing SYSPRO ERP software:

Elimination of 100% of all V.O.C.'s with a painting operation that is
100% powder coating.

Reduction of water usage from 150,000 gallons/day to 3,000 gallons/day.

Using 100% recycled wood flour in hard plastic seats, backs and tops.

Using up to 25% recycled post industrial products in soft plastic
components.

Columbia Manufacturing, Inc., is a privately owned company located at
One Cycle Street, Westfield, Massachusetts. Columbia, originally founded
in 1877 by Colonel Albert Pope, established itself as the premier
bicycle manufacturer of America’s First Bicycle. As a way to diversify
its product line and to help keep the factory busy in the slow periods,
Columbia started manufacturing school furniture in 1952 and today is
considered to be the manufacturer of the finest school furniture in
America.

Columbia’s facility sits on 36 acres with the original factory as its
core. Over the years it has expanded and currently has approximately
300,000 square feet of usable manufacturing space.

SYSPRO has earned the trust of more than 14,500 companies globally for
its suite of visionary software that enhances the competitive thrust of
small/mid-sized manufacturers and distributors. The company’s adherence
to developing technology based on the needs of customers is among the
reasons why
SYSPRO
enjoys one of the highest customer retention rates in the industry.
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